Playing card shuffler



Nov. 10, 1936. H. E. MCCOY PLAYING CARD SHUFFLER Filed May 28, 1935 EEE l Patented Nov. l0, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLAYING CARD SHUFFLER Angeles, Calif.

Application May 28,

17 Claims.

My invention relates to a playing card shuffling device and has for its principal object, the provision of a relatively simple, practical and inexpensive device that maybe conveniently employed for rapidly and effectively shuliling playing cards and the shufliing operation being automatically accomplished wholly by the weight of thel pack of playingcards that are positioned in the deviceto be shuflied.

A further object of my invention is, to provide a card shuffling device having relatively few operating parts, thus minimizing the possibility of failure of the device. to function properly when a pack of cardshave been inserted into the device to be shuiiled.

A further object of my invention is, to provide simple and efficient means whereby the speed of the device in accomplishing the card shuffling operation may be very accurately regulated and controlled.

A further object of my invention is to provide a card shuffling device having a vertically mo-vable member having a magazine for the reception ofthe pack of cards to be shuilled and a pocket that receives the shuflied cards and which vertically movable member-is moved downward during the card shuflling. operation wholly by the weight of the inserted pack of cards and which member is moved upward after the shuiiled cards have been removed from the pocket by a counterbalancing weight, thereby eliminating all manual operationsother than the inserting of the pack of cards` to be shuflied into the device and the manual engagement and removal of the shuflied cards.

With the foregoing and other objects in view my invention consists incertain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the card shuiiiing device with the housing and base shown in vertical` section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical `cross section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is ahorizontal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. Llis an enlarged detail section taken on the 50, line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 isan enlarged horizontal section taken on the line v5--5 of Fig. `2.

Fig. 6 is adetai1 elevational view partly in section of a modied form of the means utilized for 55.v Supporting apack of cards in the magazine.

1935, Serial No. 23,854

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of my invention, I0 designates a base, preferably rectangular in shape and secured to and projecting upwardly from said base, is a U-shaped 5 frame II that supports the operating parts of the device.

The upper portion of the vertical members of the frame II are narrower in width than the lower portions and formed between the wider lower portion and narrower upper portion, are inclined shoulders I2.

Side walls I3, front wall I4, a rear wall I5 and a V-bottom wall I6, form a card holder which is mounted for vertical movement between the upright members of frame II. A card receiving magazine is formed in the upper portion of the card holder, the inwardly projecting ngers 28, which will hereinafter be described, constituting the bottom of said card receiving magazine. Side walls I3, front wall I4 and rear wall I5 above fingers 28, form the card receiving magazine.

The side walls I3extend a substantial distance below the lower ends of the front and rear walls and arranged-between the depending lower portions of the side walls and suitably secured thereto, is a substantially V-shaped bottom wall I6 that provides a pocket Il that receives the cards after the same have been shuiiled.

The upper portions of the side walls I3, also the upper portions of front Wall I4 and rear wall I5 are bent slightly outward as designated by I8 to form a tapered mouth to facilitate the placing of a pack of cards into the m2 gazine to b'e shuiiied.

A suitable housing I 9 which enc] ses the operating parts of the shufler is removably mounted on base I0 and formed in the top of this housing directly above the mouth of the magazine, is an opening 20, through which the pack of cards are delivered and placed in the magazine.

Formed in the front wall of housing I9, is an opening 2|, which gives access to the pack of shuiiied cards that occupy the pocket II in order that the shuied pack may be readily removed from the device.

Depending from rear wall I5 of the magazine, is a nger 22, the lower portion of which is curved slightly forward and a corresponding but shorter finger 22a depends from the front wall I4 and these fingers provide guiding means or deflectors for the cards as they drop into pocket Il, thus insuring the piling of the cards in proper position one immediately against the other and all faced in the same direction at the completion of the shuffling operation.

Projecting outwardly from the upper portions of the side walls I3 of the card holder, are pins 23 that traverse slots 24 that are formed in the upper portions of the upright members of frame II, thus guiding the upper portion of the card holder during its vertical movement.

Pairs of ears 25 project outwardly from the upper portions of the front and rear walls I4 and I5 and journaled in these ears, are the ends of short shafts 26.

Secured to each shaft is a depending arm 21 and secured to the lower end of each arm is a finger 28 that projects inwardly through a slot 29 that is formed in the adjacent wall. Under normal conditions or with the arms 21 hanging vertically, these ngers project toward each other across the chamber within the magazine and the forward ends of the ngers may or may not overlap one another to a slight degree as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

'Ihese fingers are preferably positioned midway between the side walls I3 of the magazine and under normal conditions said fingers support the pack of cards that is inserted into the magazine to be shuflled.

Extending through the lower ends of the depending arms 21, are horizontally disposed rods 30, the ends of which bear on the inclined shoulders I2 on the upright members of frame II, and as a result of this construction, the lower ends of the arms 21 carrying the card supporting ngers 28, are moved outwardly away from each other as the card holder descends due to the weight of the pack of cards inserted in the card receiving magazine.

The ends of a horizontally disposed rod 3l are supported in the lower portions of the upright members of fram'e II and journaled on this rod, is a pair of arms 32, the forward ends of which arms are connected by a transverse plate 33 and this plate is connected to a weight 34.

The rear ends of the arms 32 are pivotally connected to a shaft 35, the ends of which are supported in the lower portions of the side walls I3 of the card holder.

Weight 34 serves as a counter balance for the card holder and parts carried thereby and under normal conditions said weight maintains the card holder in the elevated position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 and when a pack of cards is inserted in the magazine, the weight thereof overcomes the weight 34 and causes the entire card holder to descend.

The means utilized for controlling the downward movement of the card holder when a pack of cards has been positioned therein includes a vertically disposed cylinder 36 that is suitably secured to the base member of frame II and mounted for sliding movement in this cylinder is a piston 31, preferably forrned of graphite or other lubricating material.

Formed through the bottom of cylinder 36 is a threaded aperture 38 that receives a screw 39 and which latter may be adjusted so as to control the outlet of air from said cylinder as the piston 31 moves downwardly therein.

Formed in the bottom of the cylinder to the side of the threaded aperture, is an opening 39 that admits air into the cylinder as the piston 31 moves upward and this air inlet aperture is normally closed by a flap valve 40 formed of leather, rubber or other flexible material and one end of which is suitably secured to the bottom of the cylinder (see Fig. 5).

Extending axially through the piston 31, is a rod 4I provided on its lower end with a head 42 and projecting upwardly from the edge of this head, is a sharp ange 43 or a series of prongs that imbed themselves into the piston so as to rmly anchor the rod thereto.

The upper portion of rod 4I is threaded for the reception of a nut 44 and interposed between said nut and the top of the piston, is a washer 45 that prevents leakage of air through the joint between the piston and rod 4I.

Screw-seated on the upper end of rod 4I is a coupling 46 and pivotally connected to the upper end thereof is the lower end of a short link or arm' 41. The upper end of this link is mounted for rotation on a transverse shaft 48, the ends of the latter being supported by the side walls I3 of the vertically movable card holder.

Under normal conditions the weight 34 maintains the card holder at the upper limit of movement as illustrated in Figs. l and 2 and when so positioned piston 31 is at its upper limit of movement in the cylinder 36.

The pack of cards to be shuled is passed through the opening 20 in the top of the housing and positioned in the card receiving magazine with the lower edges of said cards resting on the fingers 28.

The weight of the introduced pack of cards overcomes weight 34 and as a result the entire card holder moves downward and the speed of such downward movement is controlled and regulated by the ow of air through aperture 38 and the adjusting screw 39 that is seated therein.

Screw 39 may be adjusted so that the downward movement of the card holder may be accomplished in any number of seconds, but for practical purposes it is believed that this downward movement should be accomplished in from three to six seconds.

As the card holder moves downward under the weight of the introduced pack of cards, the ends of rods 3D engage and ride downwardly through the inclined shoulder I2 on the upright members of frame II, with the result that the lower ends of the arms 21 and the fingers 28 carried by the lower ends of said arms, will swing slowly outwardly away from each other and as the forward ends of the ngers move slowly away from each other, the cards in the supported pack will be released one at a time and the released cards will drop into the pocket I1.

When the pack of cards to be shuled is placed in the magazine approximately one-half the pack rests on one finger 28 and the other half of the pack on the other nger and as the points or inner ends of the ngers move outwardly from an intermediate position beneath the pack of supported cards, one card will drop off the end of one nger and then one card will drop off the end of the other finger.

'Ihe cards after leaving the ends of the fingers, drop face downward into pocket I1 and thus two cards from the center of the pack are now positioned at the bottom of the pack that occupies the pocket after the shuling operation.

The next two cards leave the fingers 28 and follow face downward on the first two cards in the pocket and so on until the half pack supported by one finger are thoroughly intermingled and shuffled with the other half pack supported by the other nger.

Dot and dash lines in Fig. 2 illustrate various positions of the cards as they dr'op from the I'lngers 28 into pocket l1.

To remove the pack of shulied cards from the pocket I1 it is only necessary to insert the thumb and lingers of the head and grasp the upper portion of the shuilled pack that occupies said pocket.

Upon the removal of the shuilled pack of cards, weight 34 will act to elevate the card holder and this movement takes place with comparative rapidity, due to the fact that the ascending piston 3l creates suction in the lower portion of cylinder 36 to elevate the free end of flap valve 40 and thereby permit air to rapidly enter the inlet opening 34.

In Fig. 6 I have shown a modified arrangement for imparting outward movement to the card supporting lingers 28 and in this modied construction the ends of the rods 30 that carry the lingers 28 occupy inclined slots 30a that are formed in the upright members Il of the frame.

In this construction the rods 30 move downward through the inclined slots 3l)a as the card holder is moved downward under the weight of the inserted pack of cards, thus withdrawing the ngers 28 from beneath the pack of cards.

This construction prevents the fingers 28 from being kicked or swung outwardly by the weight of a pack of cards that is dropped into the upper portion of the magazine.

An especially desirable feature of my invention is, that both descending and ascending movements of the magazine and the shuilling of the cards is accomplished wholly by gravity, for the Weight of the introduced pack of cards moves the card holder downward, during which time the shuilling of the cards is effected and when the shuffled pack is removed the weight 34 is effective in elevating the magazine to its normal position.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a card shuilling device that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive of manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved shuilling device may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an automatic card shuffling device, the combination of a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in the housing movable downward by the weight of the cards placed therein, and automatic means associated with said card holder for releasing the cards on the downward movement of said card holder.

2. In a card shuffling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in said housing having a card receiving magazine therein, ,automatic means associated with said card holder for releasing the cards from said magazine on the downward movement of said card holder due to the weight of the inserted cards and a pocket for receiving the released cards.

3. In a card shuilling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in said housing having a card receiving magazine in its upper portion, finger members hingedly mounted on said card holder adapted to releasably hold the cards in said card receiving magazine, automatic means associated with said finger members for releasing the cards on the downward movement of' said card holder and a pocket for receiving the released cards, said downward movement of the card holder being caused by the Weight of the cards placed therein.

4. In a card shuilling device, a housing, a card holder, movable vertically, mounted in said housing, means for yiel'dingly holding said card holder in its upper position; a magazine in said card holder, means for automatically releasing the cards in the magazine on downward movement of the card holder caused by the weight of the cards placed in the magazine, and a pocket in said holder for receiving the cards released from the magazine.

5. In a card shuffling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in said housing, a card receiving magazine in said card holder, automatic means associated with said magazine for releasing the cards from said magazine on downward movement of said card holder due to the weight of the cards, a pocket for receiving the released cards and automatic means for returning said card holder to its original position upon removal of the cards from the pocket.

6. In a card shuffling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in said housing, a card receiving magazine in said card holder, arm members hingedly mounted on said magazine, fingers on said arms extending under and supporting the cards in said magazine and means for automatically moving said arms to withdraw the lingers from under the cards.

7. In a card shuffling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted in said housing, a card receiving magazine in said holder, automatic means for releasing the cards from said magazine on downward movement of said holder due to the weight of the introduced cards, automatic means for controlling the speed of the downward movement of said holder, a pocket for receiving the released cards and automatic means for returning said holder to its original upper position upon removal of the cards from said pocket.

8. In a card shullling device of the class described, a housing, a vertically movable card holder mounted on said housing, a card receiving magazine on said holder, automatic means for releasing the cards from said magazine on downward movement of said holder due to the weight of the cards, a pocket in said holder, members for guiding the released cards to form an orderly pack in said pocket, automatic means for controlling the speed of the downward movement of said holder and automatic means for returning said holder to its original upward position upon removal of the cards from said pocket, said last named automatic means comprising a weight adapted to counter balance the weight of a pack of cards.

9. In an automatic card shuilling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said structure and adapted to be moved downward by the weight of the cards placed in said holder and means carried by said holder and acting automatically to release the cards during the downward movement of said card holder.

10. In an automatic card shuilling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said structure and adapted to be moved downward by the weight of the cards placed in said holder, means carried by said holder and acting automatically to release the cards during the downward movement of said card holder and means for automatically returning said holder to its normal position upon removal of the shuilled cards from the holder.

1l. In an automatic card shuilling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said structure and adapted to be moved downward by the weight of the cards placed in said holder, means carried by said holder and. acting automatically to release the cards during the downward movement of said card holder, means for automatically returning said holder to its normal position upon removal of the shuled cards from the holder and automatic means for controlling the speed of downward movement of said holder.

12. In an automatic card shuffling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said structure and movable downward by the weight of the cards placed therein and means carried by said holder and actuated by said supporting structure during the downward movement of said holder for releasing the cards during such downward movement.

13. In an automatic card shuiing device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for Vertical movement within said structure and movable downward by the weight of the cards placed therein, means carried by said holder and actuated by said supporting structure during the downward movement of said holder for releasing the cards during such downward movement and automatic means for returning said holder to its normal elongated position upon removal of the shuilied cards from the holder.

14. In an automatic card shufiiing device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said structure and movable downward by the weight of the cards placed therein, means carried by said holder and actuated by said supporting structure during the downward movement of said holder for releasing the cards during such downwardmovement, automatic means for returning said holder to its normal elongated position upon removal of the shuled cards from the holder and automatic means for controlling the speed of the downward movement of said holder.

15. In an automatic card shuffling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said supporting structure, retractable fingers hingedly mounted on said holder for supporting a pack of cards in said holder, said holder being movable downward within the supporting structure by the weight of the introduced cards and means on the supporting structure for automatically retracting said supporting ngers from beneath the supported pack of cards during the downward movement of said holder.

16. In an automatic card shuiiling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said supporting structure, retractable fingers hingedly mounted on said holder for supporting a pack of cards in said holder, said holder being movable downward within the supporting structure by the weight of the introduced cards, means on the supporting structure for automatically retracting said supporting ngers from beneath the supported pack of cards during the downward movement of said holder and automatic means for returning said holder to its normal elevated position upon removal of the shufiied cards from the holder.

17. In an automatic card shuilling device, the combination with a supporting structure, of a card holder mounted for vertical movement within said supporting structure, retractable fingers hingedly mounted on said holder for supporting a pack of cards in said holder, said holder being movable downward within the supporting structure by the weight of the introduced cards, means on the supporting structure for automatically retracting said supporting fingers from beneath the supported pack of cards during the downward movement of said holder and automatic means for controlling the speed of the downward movement of said holder.

HARRY E. MCCOY. 

